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T H I S D AY • THURSDAY MARCH 16, 2017
THURSDAYSPORTS
Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com
CAF ELECTIONS…
Ahmad Battles Hayatou for the Soul of African Football Pinnick full of confidence to unseat Anjorin of Benin Republic
Duro Ikhazuagbe in Addis Ababa Never in the 60 years history of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has any election ever elicited any anxiety like what is about to be witnessed here in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia this morning. Unlike any other election into the Executive Committee of CAF, this is the very first time that incumbent President, Issa Hayatou, is facing the biggest challenge since 1988 when he was first elected. Things have fallen apart in Hayatou’s hitherto close-knit football family to lead to the revolve that is about to strip him of the coveted position he loves with his life. A former confidant and supporter of the Cameroonian, Ahmad Ahmad who is president of the Madagascar Football Federation is the anointed rallying point for all those chorusing that Hayatou’s 29 years vice-like grip on African football must end today. It therefore is no surprise that the election of a new executive committee is the Number One item on the agenda of the 39th General Assembly of CAF here in the Ethiopian capital city. All through Monday till last night when most delegates from the 54-member federations that make up CAF started arriving here, it has been horse-trading and caucus meetings from one hotel room to another. The only country not present here is Eritrea who is absent because of political skirmish that bars her from entering Ethiopia. Of course, sources from the Hayatou camp told THISDAY that there is uneasy calm in the caucus as nobody is sure how the election is going to turn out. “Ordinarily if it was in the past, we have no need to worry about what will happen. But the feelers we are getting from the Ahmad camp is that they have infiltrated some of our loyalists. As things are now going into Thursday’s
election, I can say things are almost 50-50 now,” revealed the source who is a top insider in the Hayatou camp. Interestingly, the same slogan of change that brought Hayatou to office as a wide-eye 41-year old football administrator in 1988 is what the opposition has also adopted to get him out of office. The opposition is insisting that there is nothing new to expect from the former Cameroonian basketball player. Though they admitted that Hayatou has contributed greatly to the African game through many reforms and hosting of global competitions like the first World Cup in the continent, they want African football to be on the same page as those of other confederations. They want to see a new direction offered by youth and vibrancy. However, if Hayatou succeeds in getting elected today, he would have succeeded in entering record books as the only sports administrator globally to have equaled the 33-year reign of former Frenchman, Jules Rimet who was FIFA president between 1921 and 1954. By 2021 when Hayatou’s tenure will end, he will be 76 years old, six years more than the 70 prescribed by CAF Statutes before he changed it in 2013 to satiate his interest to perpetuate his reign in office. Despite the frenzy over the Hayatou versus Ahmad contest, most Nigerians are looking beyond the Presidential Election. They are concerned with how NFF President, Amaju Pinnick is going to achieve his ambition of getting into the CAF Executive Committee where the likes of Ibrahim Galadima and Aminu Maigari failed. They want to see how the former Delta Sports Commission chairman can succeed despite the challenges placed on his way by the supervising Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports headed by Solomon Dalung. Pinnick is hopping to
Incumbent, Hayatou upstage Moucharaf Anjorin of Benin Republic who is a core Hayatou loyalist. The West B Zone seat is one of the most anticipated contests at this election here as both Galadima and Maigari lost to this Beninoise who has his family roots in Abeokuta. With no visible support of any kind for Pinnick from Dalung’s ministry, Chairman Senate Committee on Sports, Senator Obinna Ogba, is here, leading a strong support base that also include; NFF Vice Presidents Seyi Akinwunmi and Shehu Dikko, NFF Executive Committee member Ibrahim Musa Gusau and the General Secretary, Mohammed Sanusi. Also in Addis Ababa is the President of Athletics Federation of Nigeria, Chief Solomon Ogba who is from Pinnick’s Delta State. THISDAY further learnt that Pinnick received another in a series of goodwill
Challenger, Ahmad messages from the President of the Nigeria Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki. Also of interest to African football followers is the contest between FIFA Council member Lydia Nsekera (Burundi) and Isha Johansen (Sierra Leone) for the only female seat on the CAF Executive Committee. In the West A Zone, incumbent Amadou Diakite of Mali is challenged by Liberia’s Musa Bility. Chad’s Adoum Djibrine is unopposed in the Central Zone, but incumbent Magdi Shams El Din (Sudan), Juneidi Basha Tilmo (Ethiopia), Suleiman Hassan Waberi (Djibouti) and Moses Magogo (Uganda) will vie for the single seat in Central East Zone. In the North Zone, incumbent Mohamed Raouraoua (Algeria) faces Anwar El Tashani (Libya) and Fouzi Lekjaa (Morocco).
In the Southern zone, respected South African administrator Danny Jordaan (chief organiser of the 2010 FIFA World Cup) will slug it out with incumbent 1st Vice President Suketu Patel (Seychelles), Rui Eduardo da Costa (Angola) and Frans Mbidi (Namibia) for two seats. For the African representatives on the FIFA Council, Ghana’s Kwesi Nyantakyi will battle Leodegar Tenga of Tanzania for the Anglophone seat, with Ivorian Augustin Sidy Diallo and DR Congo’s Omari Constant Selemani gunning for the Francophone seat. CAF sources told reporters here in Addis Ababa that Tunisia’s Tarek Bouchamaoui will take the FIFA Council seat for the Arabic/ Portuguese/Spanish category, with his opponent Hani Abo Rida of Egypt having been moved to the Open Category.
Following the withdrawals of Jordaan and South Sudan’s Chabur Goc Alei from the Open Category, it is a smooth sail for Abo Rida, Guinea’s Almamy Kabele Camara and Burundi’s Lydia Nsekera, the only female candidate. CAF PRESIDENCY IN HISTORY Abdel Aziz Abdallah Salem (Egypt) – 1957 – 1958 Abdel Aziz Mostafa (Egypt) - 1958 – 1968 Abdel Halim Mohamed (Sudan) - 1968 – 1972 Ydnekatchew Tessema (Ethiopia) - 1972 – 1987 Abdel Halim Mohamed (Sudan) - 1987 – 1988 (acting capacity) Issa Hayatou (Cameroon) - 1988 – Till date
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Atletico 0-0 Leverkusen Monaco 3-1 Man City
Delta / Zenith Bank Principal’s Cup kicks off in Asaba All is set for the official kick-off of the Delta State Principal’s Cup football competition sponsored by Zenith Bank plc. The competition which has been grounded for many years has been revived by the bank and will be competed for by all the over 1,200 private secondary schools and 446 public government
secondary schools in the state. On Monday, the preliminaries of the developmental competition started in all the 25 Local Governments in the state but today Zappa Mixed Secondary School and Okwe Secondary School (both in Asaba) will vie for honours in the official
opening ceremony slated for St. Patrick College, Asaba The CEO of Hideaplux Limited, Warri, the organisers of the event, Tony Pemu, told newsmen on Wednesday that with the support of Zenith Bank, everything has been put in place for an eventful take off of the competition. Commissioner for basic and Secondary Education in
Delta State, Mr. Chiedu Ebie, is expected to be the chief host just as Zenith Bank’s Deputy Managing Director, Ebenezer Onyeagwu, is a special guest at the event. “Governor Ifeanyi Okowa is also being expected along with other top government functionaries in the state for the kick-off. Many people in the state are excite that
this competition is back because this is where talents are discovered,” Pemu said. Basic Education Commissioner, Ebie stressed that the competition was a good opportunity to re-engineer education and sports and to further stress the importance of discipline to the young ones. Ebie said: “We take
education and sports seriously in the state. This is a football tournament but from time to time, we will be talking to all the participants on the importance of morals. “Let me also assure that we are going to provide world-class entertainment with this event even though the event is a junior competition.”